A new bill is in the works to allow the involvement of the private sector in development, production, distribution and the sale of biofuel energy. The law will be the first to be enacted for the biofuel energy industry.The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is drafting the proclamation, regulation and directives that will fully open the industry to the private sector, which was once exclusively allocated to public investments only. The Ministry has been drafting the legal framework for the past two years in collaboration with 22 institutions, including ministries, public enterprises and representatives from the private sector.

The biofuel industry has been regulated by the investment and trade laws of the country until now. The new law, which is in its final stages of review, will replace the current laws, according to Michael Gessese, director of biofuel at the Ministry.

Africa has been having a crisis when it comes to disposal of its wastes. In urban areas, the situation has become unbearable to many residents. There are heaps of urban wastes seen in major cities. This is due to the high population that is residing in those areas. But Ethiopian engineer and entrepreneur, Samuel Alemayehu has developed ways to transform the wastes into useful products. Alemayehu is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and a former entrepreneur from Silicon Valley. Furthermore, he is an engineer at Stanford. He developed the first ever Africa’s waste-to-energy plant. The plant reduces dangerous and noxious wastes while improving urban centers.

According to him, the plant will be in a position to supply 30% of the household energy required in Addis Ababa. It will also incinerate 80% of rubbish found in the Ethiopian capital. That will be approximately 1,400 tons of waste daily. The project is worth $120 million run by Samuel Alemayehu who is the co-founder of Cambridge Industries. The Cambridge Industries together with CNEEC a partner from Chinese JV joined the Ethiopian government and a group of international firms to change the way the city tackles waste problem.

Ethiopia and Russia have reached an agreement to develop nuclear energy collaboratively according to reports from a number of reputable sources. This comes just weeks after 162 million US dollars worth of debt was written off Ethiopia’s balance sheet by Russian authorities. Senior officials met at The Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation in Addis Ababa this March to discuss a list of projects in engineering, science and technology. These projects will be undertaken by Russian and Ethiopian companies. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, his country valued ‘‘Ethiopia’s responsible and balanced policy in world affairs and its active involvement in the African Union.”